What is Medical Billing Software?

Medical practice is made easy with medical billing software as it helps with automated billing, patient appointment management and workflow management. Now one can optimize revenue while delivering faster service and quick diagnosis. Online, web-based medical billing software includes all important functionalities to manage medical billing workflow to help medical practitioners focus on providing quick and accurate diagnosis.

What Is Medical Coding Software?

By generating codes for ICD and CPT, medical coding software helps submit accurate insurance claims as well as minimize denials. It has an interactive user interface and provides advanced features to validate insurance claims and ensure faster reimbursement. Medical coding software ensures that the medical billing process is accurate with automated update of medical codes based on a patient’s documentation.

Who Uses Medical Billing Software

Medical biling software is a critical resource for tracking patients, scheduling appointments and looking after insurance claims and billing. Typical users of medical billing software are:

• Medical professionals
• Healthcare providers
• Companies dealing in medical billing services
• Administrative staff
• Even insurance companies use this software along with the patients to manage invoices. 

Why Use Medical Billing Software

Storing patient records - Store patient records using medical billing software and insurance companies can view or access them, as the need arises.

Workflow management - Medical billing and practise management solutions ensures timely reimbursements of insurance claims with better invoicing and billing workflow.

Re-Registration of Patients - Right after a patient books an appointment, all his insurance details can be pre-filled to save his or her time during the treatment.

Billing & Invoicing - Built-in invoicing and billing capabilities for all types of treatments.

Electronic prescribing - E-prescribing ensures that the online copy of prescription is sent directly to the pharmacist to ensure that patients get correct medicines on time.

Centralized documentation - Centralized documentation means easy storage & maintenance of medical bills for every patient.

Insurance management - This medical billing software makes it easy for hospital administrators to manage insurance verification, claims & policies for every patient.

Appointment scheduler - The scheduler in a billing software helps schedule appointments online with ease. You can also track cancellations and no shows based on a patient’s visits.

Automated coding - Automated coding through medical billing software ensures that a patient’s insurance details are auto-filled, preventing any chance of manual error.

Patient portal - This portal is used by patients for checking prescriptions, appointments, bills, insurance claims and more.

Medical coding - Healthcare coding software helps transform complex data and patient information into simple codes for easy storage so that it can be accessible by all.

Credit card payment - This software makes online payment through credit cards easy.

Reporting - Billing software provides reports for your revenue, no-shows by patients, patient re-visits, insurance claims, bills and more.

10 Steps Involved in Medical Billing Process: How Can medical Billing Software Help

Registration of Patients: This is the first process which includes the documentation of information provided by the patient, for example, his contact information, insurance card, medical history, insurance policy number and other reports.

Insurance Verification: The next stage includes the verification of the information provided by patients. Medical billing software helps check their eligibility, coverage, benefits and conditions of the insurance.

Coding: One has to enter the right codes with the right information. With the help of medical billing system, one can give extra attention to patients’ existing diseases and procedure though these diagnosis codes.

Crosschecking Codes: With the use of medical billing solution, one can crosscheck all codes that has been entered in the previous step to ensure there is zero error.

Filing the Charges: Charges need to be documented for any medical procedure to happen. Charges associated with different procedures, services and diagnoses can be managed with medical billing solution.

Audit Claim: Document can be examined further to avoid future errors.

Submitting Claims: After creating a medical document, payment is done by sending the document to the insurance payer. Different guidelines are followed for different procedures. Most medical billing solution supports credit card payment.

Follow-ups: Follow-ups are essential to monitor claims. It is done with insurance companies over calls and emails. This includes receiving updates on the claims that are already submitted.

Reimbursement: Reimbursements are done when the amount that has been received is properly reviewed. After verification, the account that belongs to the patient is updated. Medical billing solution ensures the submission of accurate insurance claims.

Denial Management: For any unpaid (rejected) claims, rechecking is done regarding all the insurance related documents.

Important Considerations When Buying Medical Billing Software

Get access to the best features of a medical billing software solution by using the following selection criteria.

Stand-alone or integrated suites: It is important to be sure about the kind of medical billing solution you plan to adapt. Stand-alone medical billing software solutions are integrated with practise management or patient scheduling software. Fully integrated EMR system and suites are, on the other hand, complete scheduling, billing and electronic medical records systems.

Web-based or on premise: Web-based solutions are more popular these days given their lower budget and higher accessibility. The cost of on premise medical billing software is comparatively high. Take into consideration your budget and business requirements before choosing the right medical billing tool.

EMR security: Choose a software that is HIPPA compliant as this would ensure that the sensitive electronic medical records of your patients are safe.

Trends Related to Medical Billing Software

Claim scrubbing functionality: The American Medical Association in a recent study highlighted that medical practices could save a whooping fifteen billion dollars if only the claims were processed correctly. The reason being one out of every five claim gets processed inaccurately.

Healthcare providers and medical professionals are therefore looking for such medical billing solutions that help with accurate claims processing and insurance management.

Integrated billing suite: Integrated software suite is a comprehensive package comprising medical billing, electronic health records and practice management modules. The system helps cut expenses, reduce paperwork and decreases staffing costs.

Studies indicate how the manual process of preparing medical bills increases the chance of error by eighty per cent. This can be avoided if you deploy medical billing software. Moreover, there is scope for greater interoperability so that everyone in the system is aware of the patient and billing information.

Cloud-based technology: The medical profession is inclined more towards deploying cloud-based or SaaS medical billing solutions not just because of lower upfront costs but also reduced backend costs. Efficiency levels are also higher as every information related to scheduling, claims, billing and medical records get stored immediately in the cloud. Further, all this is easily accessible from both PCs and mobile devices to all those with authorized user access.

Top Medical Billing Software Comparisons

Enlisted here are the best medical billing software solutions for easy comparison and quick selection:

EpicCare EMR
USP- Built-in patient portal

EpicCare EMR offers financial and clinical metrics for managing healthcare systems and hospitals. The medical billing software comes with an inbuilt e-prescribing feature and patient portal. It also provides telemedicine options for effective patient communication. 

Features of EpicCare EMR:
•    Organization of medical history and encounters
•    Appointment scheduling
•    Medication reconciliation
•    Peer to peer consulting
•    Patient monitoring
•    Payment management

DrChrono
USP: Clinical documentation & scheduling tools

DrChrono is used by healthcare professionals for managing patient care, revenue cycle, billing and clinical charting. The medical billing solution provides e-prescribing facilities, easy to customize medical forms and scheduling tools. The platform's electronic health record or EHR facility is further helpful in tracking patient information. 

Features of DrChrono:
•    HIPAA compliant cloud storage
•    Automatic appointment reminders
•    Clinical workflow& scheduling integration
•    Patient
•    Revenue cycle management
•    Appointment profiles

eClinicalWorks 
USP: Healthcare analytics
eClinicalWorks is a practice management and electronic health record solution devised for ensuring the best patient care. Along with an inbuilt healthcare analytics system, the billing software helps medical professionals gather the data using its customizable documentation and trend analysis capabilities. 

Features of eClinicalWorks:
•    Organizing chart information
•    Patient scheduling
•    Appointment management
•    Telehealth
•    Electronic health records
•    Patient engagement

Kareo Billing
USP: Billing & appointment management 

Kareo Billing is a medical billing and practice management system used by physicians for developing customized patient reports, scheduling appointments and storing patient documents. The medical billing software supports agenda planner and billing analytics for processing claims and handling documents. Kareo has an inbuilt messaging tool that can be used for communication amongst patients, doctors and staff. 

Features of Kareo Billing:
•    Patient statements and payments
•    Progress reporting
•    Information visualization & data tracking
•    Billing and appointment management

RXNT
USP: Electronic prescribing system

RXNT is a fully integrated all in one solution offering practise management, EHR and medical billing capabilities. The software supports single sign-on processes besides giving access to patient history and reviewing imaging records. For better patient management, the software offers an engagement portal, referrals and other check-in features. 

Features of RXNT:
•    Claim scrubbing for eliminating billing errors
•    Customizable reports
•    Status verification and alerts for claims
•    Patient's pharmacy history 
•    Appointment scheduler
•    Insurance management
•    Patient portal
•    HIPAA compliance

Cost & ROI on Medical Billing Software

Pricing and cost of medical billing software solution is dependent on the deployment model so adapted. Cloud-based solutions or SaaS applications require lower monthly payment and upfront cost when it comes to licensing, upgrades and technical support. These are comparatively cheaper when compared to on premise applications. 

On-premise deployment of the software usually incurs higher upfront costs regarding setup, licenses, training, servers and the necessary hardware. Support fees and maintenance charges are also high here. 

Medical billing system ensures higher return on investment with accurate billing and insurance claims. It ensures complete security of electronic patient records, resulting in higher trust and patient satisfaction. 

Most Common Features of Medical Billing Software

Medical Stock Management: Medical stock management software can also be used as an inventory solution for several healthcare facilities. The cloud-based medical stock management system helps in handling medical supplies and equipment.

Medical Records Management: Medical record software helps store as well as update and maintain digital health records of your patients. Features like order entry, charting, support and live reporting are available with a medical record software.

Medical Scheduling: Medical billing system software can be integrated with appointment scheduling and front office tools. You can even collect your payments with just one-click. It can display information about the patients and their appointment status.

Data Conversion; Medical software applications also allow data conversion. Data experts can easily handle the data and migrate it from one system to another.

Claim Scrubber: Check claims with accuracy against a huge database of 10 million claims. One can automatically scrub and edit claims before filing them.

Remittance Advice Electronically: All kinds of government and commercial payments like copays and deductibles can be paid instantly to all the patients. Now reduce the amount of paperwork and store information in the cloud with a medical billing software.

Batch Payments: You can record payments from various claims and tickets at one go.

Report and Analysis: Fiscal health is taken into consideration with a medical store billing software. You can track reimbursements as well as outstanding payments with the large number of reports available.

5 Benefits of Medical Billing Software

1. Automated billing: Medical retail software can automate billing and invoicing. Claims can also be processed through a medical software system.

2. Reduced Paperwork: Medical billing software would automatically reduce paperwork since everything will be stored online. Information like patient bills, claims and records, everything can be stored electronically using medical billing software.

3. Reduced Expenses: Initially medical billing software prices might seem a little high but in the long run, it is going to be beneficial. You can save money on hiring new employees, expense on social security, and insurance costs as well.

4. Easy Access to Information: One of the main benefits of using a medical billing software is that you can access patient-related information easily. All the information would be recorded in just one platform and can be accessed anywhere and anytime with the help of internet.

5. Minimal Error: Human errors are bound to happen when it comes to manual work. A web based medical billing software helps to catch and correct these mistakes. Reduce errors while entering data and save time as well as money with this software.